Marginal notes from what almost, nearly, coulda, woulda been, was so paper-thin-close to being the greatest Warriors' win in, oh, 20 years ...

-- Good omen for Warriors (and this is a flashback to their regular-season home opener): Stephen Curry, after early warm-ups, retreats to the hallway behind the Warriors' bench, 45 feet from hoop and at an angle behind the backboard, shoots and ... rims out. "Same spin, same distance," says Curtis Jones, the courtside security man who feeds Curry for this shot before every home game. Second attempt: swish.

-- Warriors coach Mark Jackson shows up for the pregame news conference. So apparently he hasn't been fired.

-- Keys to the game? For the Warriors, this game has more keys than the janitor at the Pentagon. One key for Warriors: Don't let the Clippers' Matt Barnes hurt you if he slings you to the hardwood. Andre Iguodala shakes off a Barnes slingdown (flagrant foul) to hit one free throw for 13-9 lead.

-- Warriors' (and fans') reaction: "The refs saw that?"

-- First flop: Jermaine O'Neal sets a routine pick on Chris Paul, who catapults himself into the first row. Gets the call. Just like Robert DeNiro will always get the close calls at Oscars time.

-- Old NBA superstition: It's bad luck when the visiting team scores the last 10 points of a quarter. So huge sigh of relief in the building as Jordan Crawford scores on a drive, cutting Clippers' first-quarter lead to three.

-- Is Joe Lacob wondering, "What would (fill in the blank) do?"?

-- If you throw a black-tie party and some schlubs show up wearing overalls, that's bad form, right? So why do Peter Guber's and Lacob's courtside buddies not get with the yellow T-shirt theme? Grab some cotton, meat.

-- Wonder if the Kiss Cam will zero in on Larry Ellison and the empty seat next to him.

-- One minute before halftime, Klay Thompson hits the Warriors' first three-pointer, after 10 misses. Suddenly the fairly subdued crowd comes to life.

-- Nothing nukes the Oracle like a three-point bomb. But Thompson misses one, so it's 1-for-12 for the half, which is 8 percent, which will not do the trick - the trick being to win the basketball game.

-- At the half, Draymond Green has four blocked shots. The Clippers' DeAndre Jordan is miffed that he finished third in the Defensive Player of the Year voting, but he should give his bronze medal to Green.

-- Who's winning the point guard battle? At the half, I've got Chris Paul ahead of Curry, because bad leg and all Paul is defending Curry well.

-- Ellison sits front row, a few seats from Guber and Lacob. If the Warriors lose, will he make 'em an offer they can't refuse? Or is Ellison just here to recruit Griffin as a grinder?

-- No question who the killer in this series is. Griffin showed up ready to rumble, at least after his Game 1 disappearance. At midseason a national writer nominated Curry for third best player in the league (behind LeBron James and Kevin Durant). Right now there's no question Griffin is Top 3.

-- Crash Brothers? They started out from three-land (1-for-13) more like the Smothers Brothers.

-- That slam-slam-slam you hear is Bob Myers hanging up the phone on other GMs calling to ask about Green. Muscle and hustle, and desperately needed points, off the pine.

-- Paul, with a bad hammie, was on Curry for his desperation last shot. Clippers coach Doc Rivers: "I was gonna take (Paul) out, I think it was the middle of the third. I told our trainer, 'That's it.' ... (Paul) said, 'Just trust me, please trust me.' " In Paul they trust.

-- Can a three-ball-happy team win in gritty playoffs? Rivers: "If anyone breaks the mold (of thriving in playoffs on three-balls), it's them. ... You are who you are. If I had those cannons, I'd fire 'em every time downcourt, too."

-- In a season of amazing come-from-behind wins, this failed comeback might in some ways be the most encouraging. The Warriors still have life. Thompson is back, Curry rediscovered his three stroke, the 40-point loss in Game 2 is a memory. It's on.